Feb. 26, 2011
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - The San Diego State swimming and diving team captured its first-ever Mountain West Conference championship as it ended BYU's four-year reign as the league title holder. In the process, the Aztecs produced the conference's Swimmer and Diver of the Year as well as the conference Coach of the Year. (A listing of final team scores appears below.)
SDSU freshman Kelly Marquenie was named the MWC Swimmer of the Year after winning three individual events and picking up a first-place finish in one relay during this week's four-day meet in Oklahoma City.
Junior Kristen Meier earned conference Diver of the Year accolades after winning the one- and three-meter springboard events and finishing third in the platform diving competition.
In addition, SDSU head coach Mike Shrader was named the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year after leading his team to victory in the MWC Championship Meet as well as a perfect 19-0 dual meet record and the league's 2010-11 regular season title. It marked the third straight year that Shrader was honored as the top coach in the league.
San Diego State opened the final evening of the meet on Saturday by finishing one-two in the 1650 free. Kelly Marquenie shattered the MWC, conference meet and Aztec school records with a first-place time of 16:15.53. Marquenie's split time of 9:49.73 also established a new conference and school record in the 1000 freestyle. It was the third individual gold of the championships for the freshman, who earlier in the week took first in the 200 and 500 free races. She was also a member of the Aztecs' winning 800 free relay squad.
SDSU's Melanie Garibaldi captured second in the 1650 free in 16:35.73, a time that goes into the SDSU record book as the second-fastest in program history. Her split of 9:59.04 is the second-fastest time by an Aztec in the 1000 free as well. Both Marquenie's and Garibaldi's times were NCAA B cut times, which provisionally qualify for next month's NCAA Championship Meet in Austin, Texas.
In the 200 backstroke, Leona Jennings' second-place time of 1:56.06 set a new school record, bettering her previous Aztec-best mark by 1.14 seconds. Meghan Zimmer was fifth in the final in 1:59.94 while teammate Shaida Solimani helped SDSU's team score with a mark of 2:04.89 in the B final.
The 100 freestyle saw Stephanie Koch finish seventh in 50.32 and Allison Stuhr turn in a time of 51.36 in the B final. Stuhr's mark of 50.95 in the prelims ranks as the third-fastest time in school history.
In the next event, sophomore Katelyn Weddle finished second in the 200 breaststroke with a mark of 2:12.69. Freshman Mikaela Macklin was first in the B final in 2:16.63, a time that bettered her season top time (and third-best in school history) by .13 second.
In the final event of the championships, the Aztec foursome of Stephanie Koch, Kelly Marquenie, Jessica Crider and Allison Stuhr finished fifth in the 400 freestyle relay in 3:22.83, a time goes into the SDSU record book as the second-best all-time.
In addition to taking the team title and receiving three individual awards, several Aztecs are expected to be named to the all-Mountain West conference team which will be announced on Monday.
FINAL TEAM SCORES
Team PtsSan Diego State..646Brigham Young....562Wyoming..........524UNLV.............448Utah.............443TCU..............381Colorado State...322New Mexico.......247Air Force........141